Why the plagues in China

[Achinz]

Originally posted by The Last Conformist
A Chinese guy I spoke with in december claimed that SARS was more or less unable to infect non-East Asians. Anyone knows anything more about that? - that a new disease should be racially restricted does seem odd, since it clearly managed to bridge a species gap.

It could simply be a generalisation from an observation of some rare individuals who can be immune to the virus.

With the rapid rate at which viruses mutate, I would not expect racial types within a species to pose a barrier.

 

[The Last Conformist]

For a virus that has developed in constant interaction with a tolerably isolated human population it wouldn't be terribly surprising, if I've got my biology right, but SARS of course isn't a such disease.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Originally posted by The Last Conformist
A Chinese guy I spoke with in december claimed that SARS was more or less unable to infect non-East Asians. Anyone knows anything more about that? - that a new disease should be racially restricted does seem odd, since it clearly managed to bridge a species gap.

That can't be true.

One of the first victims was the Western doctor working in Vietnam and investigating the strange new disease. He's the one originally bringing it to international and peer attention. I remember vaguely reading it in the news some months back.

 

[Archer 007]

From what Ive heard, a mass death of humans happens every so often to keep the population in check.

 

[warmonger]

A Chinese guy I spoke with in december claimed that SARS was more or less unable to infect non-East Asians. Anyone knows anything more about that?

The genetics of this has already been established. There is a variant of one human gene that seems to make the person less resistant to the corona virus that causes SARS. So if a person with this gene variation comes into contact with the virus they are more likely to be infected. This gene variant is more frequently found in East Asian populations than in others.

This doesn't mean that non East Asian populations cannot be infected by the corona virus that causes SARS. It is just that they are less likely to be infected after exposure to the virus.

 

[The Last Conformist]

warmonger: Do you have a link to a webpage with more info on the subject? Thanks in either case.

 

[warmonger]

there was an article in the "International journal of Infectious diseases" in Jan/ feb. The on-line version is subscription only.

Here is a press report on the article:

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/01/15/sars040115